December 07, 2018

CIDRAP: Rebels strike again near Beni as DRC Ebola total hits 477

A pair of violent attacks that resulted in civilian deaths were reported yesterday in Beni, one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) main Ebola hot spots, as six more cases were reported in the ongoing outbreak.

In other developments, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed new details about its investigation into a spurt of new cases in Komanda, a part of Ituri province that had not reported cases for several weeks.

ADF rebels attack civilians

Beni has been the setting for several attacks in recent months, some of which led to temporary pauses in Ebola response operations. In the latest incidents, Ugandan rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed 18 civilians in two separate attacks, according to a report from Radio Okapi, a news network run by the United Nations mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss nongovernmental organization.

According to the report, the first incident occurred yesterday morning in Mangolikene, about 9 miles northeast of Beni, where the ADF attacked farmers in their fields, killing 13. The second attack occurred yesterday evening in Paida district in the eastern outskirts of Beni, killing 5 people and wounding 2 more.

The fresh violence comes about 3 weeks after a joint mission between MONUSCO and DRC government fighters targeted an ADF stronghold near Beni, which resulted in the deaths of 7 UN peacekeepers.

Six new cases, 2 more deaths

In its daily update today, the DRC's health ministry reported six more confirmed Ebola cases, including four in Katwa, located east of Butembo, and two in Beni. Also, two more deaths were reported, one from Beni and the other from Butembo.

The developments lift the overall outbreak total to 477 cases, 429 of them confirmed and 48 listed as probable. The fatality count has risen to 275.

Health officials are still investigating 94 suspected Ebola cases.

In vaccination developments, the health ministry said wide-belt immunization, presumably broader than the standard ring vaccination strategy, is under way in reemerging hot spots, Komanda and Mabalako health zones. Overall, 41,817 people have received Merck's VSV-EBOV vaccine since the campaign began in August.

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A pair of violent attacks that resulted in civilian deaths were reported yesterday in Beni, one of the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC's) main Ebola hot spots, as six more cases were reported in the ongoing outbreak.

In other developments, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed new details about its investigation into a spurt of new cases in Komanda, a part of Ituri province that had not reported cases for several weeks.

ADF rebels attack civilians

Beni has been the setting for several attacks in recent months, some of which led to temporary pauses in Ebola response operations. In the latest incidents, Ugandan rebels with the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) killed 18 civilians in two separate attacks, according to a report from Radio Okapi, a news network run by the United Nations mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) and the Fondation Hirondelle, a Swiss nongovernmental organization.

According to the report, the first incident occurred yesterday morning in Mangolikene, about 9 miles northeast of Beni, where the ADF attacked farmers in their fields, killing 13. The second attack occurred yesterday evening in Paida district in the eastern outskirts of Beni, killing 5 people and wounding 2 more.

The fresh violence comes about 3 weeks after a joint mission between MONUSCO and DRC government fighters targeted an ADF stronghold near Beni, which resulted in the deaths of 7 UN peacekeepers.

Six new cases, 2 more deaths

In its daily update today, the DRC's health ministry reported six more confirmed Ebola cases, including four in Katwa, located east of Butembo, and two in Beni. Also, two more deaths were reported, one from Beni and the other from Butembo.

The developments lift the overall outbreak total to 477 cases, 429 of them confirmed and 48 listed as probable. The fatality count has risen to 275.

Health officials are still investigating 94 suspected Ebola cases.

In vaccination developments, the health ministry said wide-belt immunization, presumably broader than the standard ring vaccination strategy, is under way in reemerging hot spots, Komanda and Mabalako health zones. Overall, 41,817 people have received Merck's VSV-EBOV vaccine since the campaign began in August.